Chapter 129 East China Sea Fishing Village
From the sand-swept northern frontier to the turbulent East China Sea, this journey spans half of the Great Gansu Province.
When the salty sea breeze, carrying a faint fishy smell, wafted towards her, Jiang Mianmian took a deep breath and felt as if her lungs had been cleansed.
"The sea! Here I come!"
She stood on the rocks by the sea, arms outstretched, and let out a screeching sound like a groundhog as she gazed at the boundless blue sky.
This is the taste of the ocean!
[No, this smells like seafood!]
Mantis shrimp! Hairy crabs! Oysters! Scallops! Your sister has come to visit you!
Behind her, four-and-a-half-year-old Tuantuan was squatting on the beach, curiously poking at a starfish that had been washed ashore by the waves.
"Mom! This star is soft!"
Tuantuan exclaimed, "Can we eat it?"
Shen Jin stood to the side, carrying two large wooden buckets. Although he was dressed in plain clothes, his upright posture and unique temperament still made him look like a dragon king who had come to inspect the dragon palace.
"Ask your mother if you can eat it or not."
Shen Jin glanced at the woman who had already started rolling up her trousers in preparation for going into the sea, his eyes full of amusement.
"I can eat it! I absolutely can eat it!"
Jiang Mianmian turned around, her eyes gleaming with a green light. "Son! Stop playing with the stars! Grab your little shovel and come with me to the rocky area over there! That's where the treasure is!"
"Yay! Time to dig for treasure!"
Tuantuan immediately threw away the starfish, grabbed the "little iron shovel" that Shen Jin had specially made for him, which weighed ten pounds, and followed after him happily.
...
The reef area is currently experiencing low tide.
The exposed crevices in the rocks hold countless gifts from the sea.
"Look! Those are whelks!"
Jiang Mianmian, quick as a flash, plucked a handful of snails from a crevice in the rock and tossed them into the bucket. "These are absolutely amazing when stir-fried!"
"Mom! There's a hole here that sprays water!"
Tuan Tuan pointed to a small hole in the sand.
"Those are razor clams! Dig them up quickly!"
Tuan Tuan shoveled it down.
"boom!"
He dug a pit the size of a washbasin in the sand, and not only razor clams, but even his ancestors for eighteen generations were dug up.
"Gently! Gently!"
Jiang Mianmian picked up a razor clam that had been broken off by the shovel with a pained expression. "This is meat! Be gentle!"
Tuantuan nodded as if she understood, then took another shovel... a little too gently, digging only a hole the size of a bowl.
Just as the mother and son were immersed in the joy of "digging, digging, digging," Shen Jin also made a harvest.
Although he had no experience in beachcombing, he had inner strength.
He stood in front of a puddle and pressed his palm down.
"Splash—"
The water surface trembled.
Several grouper that had been hiding under the rocks were stunned and floated to the surface, their white bellies turned upside down.
Jiang Mianmian: [...]
[Cheating! This is blatant cheating!]
[Well done! We'll have steamed grouper tonight!]
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Suddenly, Tuantuan let out a scream.
Jiang Mianmian and Shen Jin's expressions changed, and they rushed over instantly.
"What's wrong?"
Tuantuan was holding up his little hand, his fingers gripping a large, blue crab. The crab's large pincers were clamped tightly around Tuantuan's fingers, clearly regarding him as prey.
"Waaaaah...it bit me!"
Tuantuan was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes, but instead of crying, he got angry.
"You wicked thing! How dare you bite this young master!"
A fierce glint flashed in the little guy's eyes.
Instead of shaking off the crab, he reached out with his other hand and grabbed the crab's shell.
"Open it!"
Tuantuan let out a loud shout in her childish voice, and then suddenly exerted force with both of her little hands.
"Crack—!!!"
A crisp, teeth-grinding cracking sound.
The large blue crab that had been so arrogant just moments before was actually broken open by a four-year-old child with his bare hands right in front of everyone!
Yes, it was broken open.
The crab shell was crushed, the crab legs separated, revealing the crab roe inside.
The large pincers that were gripping his fingers loosened weakly.
The entire room fell silent.
The fishermen who were gathering seafood were dumbfounded.
Jiang Mianmian was stunned.
Even Shen Jin raised an eyebrow.
This is a sea crab! Its shell is incredibly hard! And it just... broke like that?
Tuantuan looked at the mangled crab in her hand, sniffed, put her fingers in her mouth and blew on them, then looked at Jiang Mianmian with a wronged expression:
"Mom...it's broken. Can we still eat it?"
Jiang Mianmian came to her senses, looked at her son's fleshy finger that was only slightly red, and then looked at the crab that was dead and torn to pieces.
[Son... is that Iron Palm?]
[Crab: I was terrified. I just wanted to pinch it, and my entire family was wiped out.]
"Yes, you can eat it! Of course you can eat it!"
Jiang Mianmian suppressed a laugh and patted his head. "This is called... hand-shredded crab! It's even more flavorful!"
"Really?" Tuantuan burst into laughter through her tears. "Then I'll go catch a few more!"
"No! Don't tear it!"
Shen Jin quickly stopped him, "Catch them alive. They're fresher when they're alive."
He was afraid that if he didn't stop him, all the crabs in this area would be physically exterminated by this kid.
...
Evening, in the courtyard of the fishing village.
Smoke curls upwards, and the aroma is irresistible.
Today's spoils filled the yard: two large buckets of conch, half a bucket of razor clams, more than a dozen groupers, and... a pile of crabs that were "subdued" by the whole group.
Jiang Mianmian personally took charge of the cooking, launching a full crab feast.
Steamed hairy crabs! Preserving their original flavor!
"Spicy crab! Stir-fried with the best dried chilies!"
"Typhoon Shelter Style Fried Crab! The garlic flavor is absolutely amazing!"
"And this... seafood congee!"
When a large table of bright red and fragrant seafood was served, Tuan Tuan's mouth was already watering.
He was holding a crab leg in his left hand and an oyster in his right, his face covered in oil from eating.
"Delicious! Even better than roasted whole lamb!"
Jiang Mianmian couldn't stop eating either, holding a crab-eating tool in her hand, elegantly and quickly disassembling a crab.
This is what the ocean tastes like!
It's so fresh! So beautiful! I want to live here forever!
Chen Jin sat beside her, slowly peeling shrimp. After peeling one, he put it into Jiang Mianmian's bowl; then he peeled another and put it into Tuantuan's bowl.
I only eat a bite occasionally.
"Shen Jin, you should eat too!" Jiang Mianmian stuffed a piece of crab meat into his mouth.
"I'm not hungry." Shen Jin looked at her. "Just watching you eat makes me full."
Jiang Mianmian felt a warmth in her heart.
[Silly look.]
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Then watch a little longer, I'll make sure you're full."
It's late at night.
The waves crashed against the rocks, making a rhythmic splashing sound.
A family of three lay on bamboo chairs in the yard, gazing at the dazzling starry sky above.
"Mom," Tuantuan patted her round belly, "Are we going to catch crabs again tomorrow?"
"Let's go!" Jiang Mianmian burped. "Tomorrow we'll go somewhere farther away. I heard there are big lobsters there!"
"Yay! I'm going to break the lobster open too!"
Shen Jin listened to the child's "violent" words and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
These days are wonderful.
only……
He glanced at the dark sea in the distance.
As a former regent, his intuition told him that the depths of this seemingly calm sea were not as peaceful as they appeared.
There seemed to be a faint, unusual restlessness in the wind.
That was the scent of pirates.
However, looking at the violent mother and son next to me who were discussing "how to eat a lobster", I was struck by their behavior.
Shen Jin shook his head.
If some foolish pirate dares to come...
That was probably the most regrettable decision they ever made in their lives.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com